of every virtue and every vice? Who that takes these things seriously to heart will not become a better and a wiser man? What heart, not deadened and torpid as frozen clay, does not throb with unspeakable sensibility, at the scenes which pass before it? whose soul does not swell and expand with the consciousness of the power and dignity of the genius of man? and whose thoughts are not thus elevated to contemplate himself as a being intended for higher and purer pleasures than sensuality can bestow? Go to your lesson-if ambition is gnawing at your heart. See how the lust of power has transformed others into demons of blood and destruction; and be content to be loved and respected, rather than to be hated and feared. The creations of fancy do not move me more than the vivid and strong representations of history.Who can peruse the volumes of Hume and Gibbon, without being filled with the mighty subjects of their pens? I speak of the political facts and transactions they narrate.-What a thirst for something more oppresses the heart! How all the elements of the soul effervesce! How every faculty is strained, and labors to understand every action, every motive and interest of the great actors in the scene; to discriminate and decide between them, to approve or condemn!-It is when we are worked up to this state of excitement by contemplating the deeds of man, we feel and know that man must be immortal; for the deeds themselves, and the spirit that records them, bespeak a being whose powers extend beyond this world. Such minds were not made, such capacity was not given to deck the life of an ephemeron; nor to be exhausted for the amusement or use of creatures whose being will terminate after a short and fret

ful existence. Let the man who presumes, on some shallow sophism, to doubt on this subject, for disbelieve he cannot, look well to it.-Let him answer me, if his reason, in which he confides so much, can be satisfied with the belief, that a being with such miraculous gifts and faculties can perish like the worm he treads on?

But my purpose, from which I have wandered for a moment, is to impress upon you the necessity of exercising your judgment on various subjects of inquiry, in order to improve it in your particular business, whatever it may be; and to eradicate a false and dangerous error, that a man engaged in one occupation need not extend his knowledge beyond it. Judgment, in its most extended sense, has been defined, by Montaigne, to be "a master principle of business, literature and talent, which gives a person strength on any subject he chooses to grapple with, and enables him to seize the strong point of it."-How unusual then are its application and use! How infinite its importance to every man in every situation!-It is the great teacher of our opinions; the guide of our conduct; the arbiter of what is fit or unfit, prudent or imprudent, safe or dangerous, profitable or injurious. When then should we begin to acquire and make perfect this "master principle?" When should that education commence its work, which is to give to the mind that quickness of sight, that vigor of action, and exactness of comparison, which constitute judgment? It must be done in early life, or it never will be well done. Except in a few extraordinary cases, the education of a youth is so far completed before the age of twenty years, as to have fixed his leading principles, fashioned his habits, and given a direction to F

his faculties, at least in a sufficient degree to af fect, if not decide, his character and standing in life. Every portion of this eventful period has some influence on his ultimate destiny. Day by day he forms opinions; he adopts tastes; he establishes maxims; he surrenders himself to theories; he accumulates prejudices, all of which, if not furnished and governed by a sound and enlightened instruction, by wise teachers and just models, will lead him into a thousand errors, perhaps into incurable vices, to be the bane of his life; the destruction of his happiness, character and usefulness. It is to your libraries you must look for these excellent and approved teachers and models

CHOICE OF BOOKS.

It is always to be regarded as a fortunate circumstance where a young person has early acquired a taste for reading. So much may our usefulness and happiness be increased by the results of well-directed reading, that a fondness for it may justly be considered as affording the best augury of a respectable and virtuous character. Books are the guides of youth, the pastime of manhood, the solace of old age. They furnish the materials of conversation and reflection, the embellishment of refined society; they enlighten and perpetuate the liberal arts; and pour the balm of Christian hope on the latest moments of existence.

It is a good sign in the present times, that a taste for reading is becoming nearly universal. The exertions made by the enlightened friends of education in this country, have gone far towards making us a reading nation; and the increasing

demand for books of science and literature, as well as for those of mere entertainment, inspires the brightest hopes of the philanthropist.

To all our young friends, and especially to the young man just entering on the stage of life, we would say "Read. If you have not already acquired a taste for this most delightful of all occupations, begin with the most interesting book you can find a book of amusement, if you cannot relish any thing better; then try something more solid, and so proceed until you can relish the most abstruse reasonings, or the most scientific disquisitions. Be assured that any sacrifice of inclination you may make at first will be amply repaid in solid enjoyment at last."

Great caution, however, is required in the choice of books, for if they produce no effect on the mind, the time spent in reading them is wasted; if a bad effect, it is worse than wasted: every book should be read, therefore, with a distinct view to some good effect on the mind, or to some definite object in the business of life.

The choice of books is important in every point of view; and where a judicious and wellread friend can be found, his advice should be constantly sought in this matter. For those who may not have the opportunity of constantly referring to such an one, we will take the liberty to offer a few hints towards the selection of a young man's library.

In the first place, a considerable portion of every one's leisure for reading should be devoted to that all-important subject in which every rational being has an equal interest; we mean, of course, the subject of Religion.

The Bible, with such works as the present ad

vanced state of biblical literature furnishes for elucidating the sacred text, should form the basis of every library, however small.

The most convenient and elegant edition of the Scriptures, for reference, is that which is popularly called the Polyglott Bible, which, we are happy to observe, has been recently published in Philadelphia. The copious marginal references, and the superior correctness of the text, render this edition invaluable to the private Christian as well as the theological student.

A careful examination of the Evidences of Christianity is the duty of every Christian, so far as his means will allow; and there are very few who cannot easily find time for this examination, when we recollect that it is a very proper study for that day which is set apart for religious improvement. The best and most popular treatises on the Evidences, viz. those of Watson, Jenyns, Leslie, and Paley, with an introductory discourse by the Rev. Dr. Alexander of Princeton, have recently been published in Philadelphia, in a pocket volume, and the trifling amount demanded for this invaluable collection, places it in the power of the humblest individual to furnish himself with a complete panoply of Christian argument and defence. These treatises are all masterly compositions. Watson, who was one of the leading minds of his age, often rises to sublimity. Paley is almost unrivalled for sound sense and practical wisdom, and Jenyns for cogent reasoning. Indeed, there is scarcely any excellence of style of which specimens may not be found within the compass of this small volume; when this secondary recommendation is superadded to the vital importance of the subject treated, we can scarcely excuse our